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I’m not sure how easy it would be to RV camp inside of Joshua Tree National Park in the best of times, but in our case it wasn’t an option at all due to the Covid related moratorium on overnight camping inside park borders. Boondocking in the middle of nowhere isn’t something we’ve done yet (maybe someday) but that’s definitely an option for camping just outside the park. For our first trip to Joshua Tree we ended up booking a couple of nights at the Joshua Tree KOA, which was about a 45 minute drive to the visitor center and main entrance to the park. This would give us one full day to explore the park and then drive home the next morning.
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We pulled into the KOA on the evening of December 24th and it was nearly empty. They told us it was going to fill up starting on the 26th, but we’d be leaving that morning and wouldn’t have to worry about any crowds. The KOA did seem like it would be a bit too cozy for our liking in terms of packing RVs next to each other (which is why we prefer state parks) but again, we didn’t have to worry about that this time. The grounds did include a nice super hot pool (92 degrees) fed by local hot springs. We enjoyed the pool on both nights, and basically had it to ourselves each time. There were also some decent looking hot tubs at various temperatures but unfortunately those were closed due to Covid restrictions. Boo.
The KOA also had a nice little dog park, which actually came in handy as we met up with Boomer’s mother (Joy), sister (JK), step dad (Trip), and their humans Jeff and Ty. They were all staying in nearby Palm Springs in their own RV. Boomer had a great time playing with mom and sis, not so much with step dad. After letting the doggos expend some energy running around the dog park, it was time for us all to hit Joshua Tree.
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Unlike Arches National Park, Joshua tree didn’t really have a single scenic road to stick to, so we drove around at semi-random, stopping at a few spots that seemed interesting. At one point we found our selves going down a dirt road that was vibrating the RV to the point where we thought it would fall apart any minute. After an Austin Powers inspired 40 point U-turn we made our way back to paved roads.
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The vistas in Joshua Tree are definitely impressive, especially if you like looking at strange trees and a great deal of rocks (which we did like). The Joshua Trees are a type of Yucca plant and to me, looked like something drawn by Dr. Seuss. They are also quite photogenic.
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We stopped at several parking lots and explored from there. One of the more interesting destinations we hiked to was Wall Street Mill. It’s easy to forget that National Parks aren’t just tourist destinations, but were a place that people lived and worked (and still do). Wall Street Mill was a gold ore crushing mill that actually operated until the mid 1900’s. There’s still quite a bit of the mill left, as well as some abandoned old timey cars. Seeing all that got us talking about the difference between junk and artifacts. I actually looked that up later. There’s no hard and fast rule but the Smithsonian says about 50 years is a standard guideline.
Before we knew it the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping. It was time to go, but not before pulling over one final time to take a few pictures at dusk. If the moon hadn’t been out I’m sure I would have insisted on staying later to take some starry night photos, but it was there and it was bright. Plus it was getting cold and I was still wearing shorts, so I ran back to the RV to rejoin the family and crank up the heater.
So is it worth it to visit Joshua Tree if you plan on only spending one day there? I’d say yes, but considering there was a great deal we didn’t see, I’d definitely be happy to come back another time to pick up where we left off.
Overall, we really enjoyed this 8 day winter break trip.